Category Archives: TV-G[eek]

The X-Files S7 E15

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“En Ami”

I was yelling at my screen at Scully to shoot him in the head. They never listen to me when I want them to shoot him in the head. I mean, he was in her car, trespassing… she could have done it and everything would be better.

Smoking Man returned to the X-Files to lure Scully on a trip to collect a potential medical cure to cure cancer. Scully went along with him and got taken in by the con. I’m telling you, shoot him in the head.

While the combination of Gillian Anderson and William B. Davis was spectacular, I am not convinced that Scully would get taken in as easily as she did. I do not think she ever truly trusted Smokey, but she certainly was naive enough.

It was also fairly creepy to have Smoking Man looking at Scully in the way that he was. I would not have gone along with him had I been Scully. I guess she is a better person than I am.

Mulder is on the bench for much of this episode, though he does recruit the Lone Gunmen to try and help find Scully. At the end of the episode, Mulder has an almost disappointed look on his face when Scully had taken him to where CSM’s “offices” were (cleaned out, of course).

Who knows exactly how much of this entire trip was true? I am not sure whether CSM told Scully anything that was true and not part of his manipulation. Why does he do this? He just tossed the disc with the info into the water.

Scully could have avoided all of this with just one (or maybe a couple) shots to the head. When will they finally take my suggestion?

PS- I should say that I love William B. Davis’s performance as CSM, and I don’t really want him shot in the head. Just his character.

Battlestar Galactica S4 E4, E5, E6

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“Escape Velocity”

“The Road Less Traveled”

“Faith”

Battlestar Galactica continues with its final season as some of these characters are going through some serious issues, especially those we have learned are Cylons.

Chief Tyrol went through it hard after Cally’s death. He was angry and responding violently. Part was the grief over his wife’s death and part of it was his continued confusion over his own truth.

Sol was having internal struggles as well. He would go down to question Six in the brig, looking for answers to his own self-image questions.

Kara has been acting crazy as captain of this mission to head to try and find earth. The stress and anxiety played havoc with his behavior and the support of the crew that went with her. However, picking up Leoben, who claimed there was a Cylon Civil War going on. Starbuck took a few of her crew (after a very tense mutiny) to the Cylon base ship looking for an alliance.

She found out from the Cylon Hybrid that “Thus shall it come to pass. The dying leader will know the truth of the opera house. The missing three will give you the five who have come from the home of the thirteenth. You are the harbinger of death, Kara Thrace. You will lead them all to their end. End of line.“

Baltar is another character going through it in this run of episodes. He had become a religious leader, speaking about a different, single God. Many of the people aboard Galactica would be listening to him. He had some trouble with Tyrol too.

Roslin’s cancer is moving forward, but she had a conversation with another patient dying of cancer that allowed her to refocus her ideas. Roslin has been a character that has felt inconsistent this season, but I do like the relationship between Roslin and Adama.

Kara seemed to be back in control after a successful trip to the baseship. I’m not sure how this is going to go over with Galactica.

Goosebumps: The Vanishing E4, E5, E6, E7, E8

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“Monster Blood”

“The Boy Who Cried Monster”

“The Girl Next Door”

“Welcome to Camp Nightmare”

“Invasion of the Body Squeezers”

After being very impressed with the first couple of episodes of this Disney + show, I binged the remaining episodes today. Overall, I would say that I liked it more than I expected, but there were some bumps that did not have anything to do with a goose.

What I liked. I enjoyed the ensemble cast. The young actors all were very likable and did a strong job with the material given to them. Considering some of the material was wildly odd, the actors should be considered a major positive. I especially found Devin, played by Sam McCarthy to be a standout. The chemistry between the young actors worked quite well and definitely was a huge plus to the series.

Of course, David Schwimmer was excellent too. I bought him in every weird moment, even as a disembodied head.

The mystery was compelling and the missing brother from the past was a good hook to bring us into the story. It did form together well with the characters involved.

What I did not like as much: The story did feel as if there were plenty of plot holes in it. If all of the people were changing into the alien bugs who had been in the cocoons, why did David Schwimmer not change? Some of the things that happened seemed to be happening because the script said it, and it did not always make sense.

The whole flashback to the alien ship episode was a bit much for me because I did not care about these characters at all. When the ensemble that I had been following was involved, I was much more engaged.

I am also not 100% sure I know what the resolution was, or how they figured it out. Again, some of the writing felt uneven.

At the end of the day, I think I enjoyed this one more than the other Disney + Goosebumps series starring Justin Long and I think this does a decent job of providing an intro to horror for a younger crowd.

Silo S2 E10

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“Into the Fire”

The ending of Silo season two made me think of the ending of LOST season 3, where Jack said “We have to go back!” That moment was such a mind-f that no one was expecting it. That is how I felt when suddenly, the end of Silo seemed to be in a different time before the silos were built.

It led to us seeing where the Pez dispenser came from. It was such an unexpected twist that it was wild.

Both sides of the storyline this year came together in some great scenes.

  • I was right about Walker and the others setting up Bernard, although, I have to admit, mid way through the episode, I was not sure if I was right. Loved the scene between Walker and Bernard that confirmed the plan.
  • Juliette coming over the hill as the whole of silo 18 was preparing for force their way outside was as dramatic as it could be. It was one of the best moments of the show.
  • Again, it may just be me, but Juliette writing “Not Safe. Don’t come out” and showing it on screen as she did reminded me of “Not Penny’s Boat” by Charlie on LOST. Yeah, I know I have LOST on the brain.
  • The Algorithm is strange. It said that Camille could stay but Sims and his son had to leave. Why? Solo kept saying that his mom did not come back when they went to deal with the Safeguard. Is this tied together?
  • The scene where Juliette let Audrey have it for her treatment of Eater, whom we learn has a named- Hope. This was awesome because I have thought Audrey has had something shoved up her butt since the minute we met her.

Last week I believe I stated that ep. 9 was my favorite of the season. That is no longer accurate as episode 10 was just completely awesome from the beginning to the weird flashback at the end. The fire that seemingly consumed Juliette and Bernard, the rebellion’s ‘end’, and everything else.

Silo has done a tremendous job of providing specific details and answers to mysteries while keeping plenty of them active to keep the audience guessing. Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Robbins were outstanding all season long with a special shout out to Steve Zahn’s Solo who may have been the best character we have met so far. Zahn’s performance was special and his bond with Juliette was incredible.

Season three looks to have a ton of surprises in store, and I cannot wait to see where this sci-fi series takes me. Apple TV + has yet another epic series on its hands.

Goosebumps: The Vanishing S1 E3

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“The Haunted Car”

I watched the third episode of Goosebumps: The Vanishing series on Disney +. I will admit that I did not like this one anywhere near the first couple. Still, this was entertaining enough and still does have moments that I really enjoyed.

I was not a fan of the whole haunted car bit during this episode and the character of Alex has not been the one that I have embraced at this point. Since this was a major part of the episode, that pulled down the episode itself.

Everything with David Schwimmer as Anthony and Sam McCarthy as Devin with the mysterious plant/animal creature and the vines was great. I do wish that they would just talk to each other. That is a horror film trope that I wish would not be here in this series. Hopefully, it will not be too many episodes because if they get together, they may be able to have more success than they are having separately.

Trey is back. Not a fan of this character, but I was not supposed to love him. He seems like he has been through it and Anthony’s discovery of and caring of the boy when he did showed a strong side to Anthony. It will probably lead to them bonding at some point.

So while I still liked this episode, it is definitely my least favorite of the season so far. I hope it continues to elevate the Anthony story since the haunted car took a header into the water.

Skeleton Crew S1 E8

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“The Real Good Guys”

Skeleton Crew came to a rip-roaring conclusion with the eighth episode of the first season that saw a big time happy ending and some very stressful moments.

Skeleton Crew has been a joy all season long, and the last few episodes have been filled with action and tense drama. Jod showed his true stripes and took up the mantel of the real villain of this season. Jude Law was sensational in this role, creating a real horrendous human being while still being charming and enthralling enough to wish he would make the right decisions. His past was driving him to this grand theft attempt and, for me, his actions were irredeemable, but when everything was obviously over, he threw aside his blaster.

What a great episode for Wim, who had been having so many troubles all season long. He had his dreams shaken by the realities of the galaxy, but he never completely gave up his hope. Wim was an absolute standout in this episode and the image of Wim standing with the lightsaber was epic.

It was nice when Wim’s father finally began listening to him. The parents played a huge piece in the story with Wim and Fern.

Our young heroes truly stepped it up. KB was awesome as she was able to pilot the Onyx Cinder back up past the barrier to get a message to Khym to send help… it the form of X-Wing fighters.

Oh, and by the way… was that Luke Skywalker????

I never once believed that KB had crashed the Onyx Cinder and had died though. That beat of the story was clearly not in the cards.

I am a little underwhelmed with the final few moments. I wanted more and I needed to know what the kids were going to do, what Jod was going to do etc. I needed more falling action after the huge climax. That is a minor complaint, but I just wanted to know what was next for these characters that have been such a wonderful group for the past eight episodes.

Skeleton Crew delivered some exceptional Goonies in Star Wars action and was one of the best Star Wars Disney + shows, right up their with Andor.

Goosebumps: The Vanishing S1 E1, E2

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“Stay Out of the Basement Part I”

“Stay Out of the Basement Part II”

I was not that interested in the new Goosebumps series on Disney +. I had watched the previous one a couple of years ago, and I liked it enough, but it did not blow me away. It was clear that this was going to be a new cast in what appeared to be an anthology type show starring David Schwimmer of friends fame. I had a moment to watch episode one Sunday night so I gave it a shot.

Holy cow! I was knocked over with the show. I was able to watch episode two tonight and things only got creepier as the show seemed to go full Audrey II.

I loved these first two episodes. I was completely invested with the new characters and the new scary story.

It kicked off with a flashback to a group of kids who disappeared and were assumed to be dead years before. One of those kids turned out to be the brother of David Schwimmer’s character, Anthony. It is a family mystery that is still very relevant for them.

Anthony’s twin children, Devin and Cece, came to visit him for the summer, kicking off plenty of weirdness and wild encounters. Devin has had several issues immediately, trying to impress an old friend/flame, Frankie. She was dating Trey, a real jerk of a guy who lived across the street from Anthony’s place and kept parking his car in his driveway. It was a deal he had made with Anthony’s mom while she was there. Unfortunately, she has been taken to a home with dementia.

The family element was stronger than I expected with the actors involved playing things deeper than a show like this would normal have. Schwimmer was excellent with the sadness and the confusion on how to deal with the problems he is facing.

Anthony is a botanist and that leads him to find a spore (or so he thought) on his brother’s clothes, which had just now been released by the police. That spore turned out to be an animal and a carnivore. So Anthony did his best Seymour Krelborn imitation and started feeding it dead mice from the pet store. Guess what… it started growing. Feed Me Seymour.

Trey gets eaten too… or transformed… or something.

All of the episodes are currently on Disney +, but I do not have the time to binge the rest. Maybe some time in the next week I will get to the remainder of this show, and I am excited because I really liked the first couple.

The X-Files S7 E14

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“Theef”

There were a lot of controversial themes hidden in this X-Files episode. Okay, maybe not that hidden, but when the story swings on the choice of a doctor to end the suffering of a patient who could not be saved, it can create a lot of intrigue.

Picket Fences dealt with the concept of Euthanasia several times, but one would not expect it to appear on an X-Files episode.

The episode also featured “hexing” which seemed to be a backwoods form of voodoo, including the voodoo doll, called a poppet which was how the episode villain was using this pwoer.

The villain, Orell Peattie, was played by Billy Drago, and he was excessively creepy. He played the father of the girl who had been given the excess morphine by the doctor, Robert Wieder, played by James Morrison. Both of these actors did a great job in the episode.

The only issue could see was making Orell Peattie apparently not very highly educated, making the whole character a stereotype. The misspelling of the word “thief” being the title of the episode and something written after his victims.

I do not remember watching this episode when it first aired in 2000, but I did enjoy this one now. As I said, there were several themes in this episode that could be looked at deeper yet including not only Euthanasia but also modern medicine vs. practical magic.

Scully keeping Mulder on his toes is a fun moment in this overall creepy entry.

Battlestar Galactica S4 E3

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“The Ties That Bind”

It is pretty clear that they are into the final season of Battlestar Galactica because major stuff is going down.

The Cylons are fighting within themselves and it sure seemed as if John Cavil (Dean Stockwell) set up the whole group of his opposition to be killed. I’m not sure how that will go over, but it sure looked that way.

Cally discovered the truth about Tyrol. She thought he was having an affair with Tory Foster, but she discovered that they, along with Tigh were Cylons. What did she get for her trouble? A trip out the space vent. Of course, this was after Cally was preparing to kill herself and her son by doing the exact same thing.

Cally had really lost herself the last several episodes and this was the final straw.

Is the show trying to make us dislike Laura Roslin? The show seems to be making her less like a president and more like a tyrant lately. And she is anything but forgiving.

This is really getting dark and I do not know where it is heading. I am trying to keep any spoilers for what’s coming up next away to ty and keep the suspense up.

Dexter: Original Sin S1 E6

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“The Joy of Killing”

I have been disappointed with the new Dexter show since the first couple episodes. This new one, episode six, was the best one since the first two.

The show limited the amount of silly Dexter action, though there was some of that as he was getting his first blow job. Still, it was kept to a minimum and the cases were compelling.

The captain’s son was snatched much like the judge’s son earlier in the season. We met the captain’s son recently as he spoke with Dexter. That made this more powerful than just a kid who we had never met. The tension of the cop shop during this episode was at an all-time high.

I am not in love with the flashbacks, but these were fairly significant. We see the birth of Debra and Harry’s wife told him no more affair. Another awkward moment.

Dexter set himself up as a serial killer (officially killing his third victim). The alligator dumping was not going to work any longer as the police have discovered the arm floating in the swamp that we saw a few episodes ago. I figured that was coming back, and I am glad it made it.

Of course, Dexter is not going to be caught or even implicated because we know he does not get caught or implicated for years. The dangers of a prequel.

I hope the remainder of this season is able to match this quality more than it has been lately.

Silo S2 E9

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“The Safeguard”

Wow. This was an intense episode of Silo. It was easily my favorite episode of season two so far. Everything is coming together into major events setting up for the season finale next week.

If I am being honest, some of this season has not caught my attention. I have always been in on everything Juliette is doing, but a lot of the political stuff from the original silo has gone over my head. However, as things ratchet up, every scenes has grown in intensity.

Silo had a LOST moment too as Juliette comes across the Others. Okay, that is not their names, but she found this handful of young adults as she was searching for Solo. The inclusion of these characters brought a anxiety level that ramped things up. Rick and Audrey are angry and spiteful… at least Audrey is. She is very much like kill first and figure it out later. We see how she was behind a lot of the missteps that happened to Juliette earlier in the series (another LOST like trope that saw the same scene from different POV).

Juliette tried to figure out the combination to the vault for Rick and Audrey. Audrey had told her that she would kill Solo when her baby cried again because the baby was hungry. This all led to the reveal of Solo’s backstory and the tragic events that led up to him being stuck in that vault on his own. The whole scene of Juliette trying to convince Solo to give her the combination was effective and suspenseful.

Lukas winding up in front of the giant AI was amazing too. What is the Safeguard? I don’t know, but I think it is safe to assume that it is a way to protect the secrets by destroying the silo. We know there are 51 other silos out there and, according to the AI, only three other people had ever gotten the instructions it was going to give to Lukas.

What side is Sims and his wife going to end up on? I don’t know but all I know is that Bernard needs to face some justice. He is such a horrible character at this point, just concerned with his own power. Unless, that is, there is something that the show has not shown us yet, which is absolutely possible. I think Bernard is going to get his because of Knox. I think Know knows that Walker is the “traitor” and that he was setting up Bernard with a fake story. Maybe I am wrong about that, but the way he spoke to Walker about the possible traitor, it really seemed as if he had figured out the truth.

The finale looks to be a huge episode. This one was easily my favorite of the year so far as every story grasped my attention and made me anxious.

Creature Commandos S1 E7

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“A Very Funny Monster”

Creature Commandos finished its first season on HBO Max this week with a finale that might have been my favorite episode of the season. It was a Nina-centric episode and it ended with a shocking death (or two).

I would start with the one part I did not like was how Frankenstein was dealt with. He was such an afterthought in this episode after being built up for the whole season. I know it was meant to be a joke, but I did not like that.

However, everything with Nina, her flashback to her tragic backstory and the current world death at the hand of the Princess, was excellent. I have a slight complaint on how Nina’s father dies, but other than that, everything worked so well.

They definitely are setting this up for a second season and I think, even if I have been up and down about the show, I will continue to watch it.

Skeleton Crew S1 E7

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“We’re Gonna Be in So Much Trouble”

Whoa. Skeleton Crew went hard this week in the penultimate episode. Jod is a downright horrendous person and the kids make it back to At Attin. But that final shot was frightening.

The final shot of the episode was Jod extending a lightsaber out in front of the four kids and their parents seconds after their reunion. The way he extended the lightsaber was reminiscent of the way Anakin extended his lightsaber when he slaughtered the younglings during Order 66 in Revenge of the Sith. This was after Jod had threatened to slice the kids’ parents up earlier in the episode if they did not behave.

What an a-hole. He decapitated 33 a little while after the droid had turned on him and went to aid the kids in regaining control of their ship (as he expectantly hit Jod in the face in one of the biggest cheer moments of the series).

There was so much drama on this episode and Jod had become such a bad guy that you have to admire the skill of Jude Law. At one point, Jod seemed like a bad guy with a heart of gold. I am not sure you could say that any longer.

This was one of the most exciting episodes of the series and I was glued to the screen the whole time. One final episode which I hope brings this story to a satisfying conclusion.

Silo S2 E8

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“The Book of Quinn”

Apple TV +’s sci-fi series Silo is marching along this season with plenty of tense and anxiety-filled moments.

My favorite section is those including Rebecca Ferguson. She is an awesome actress and her character, Juliette, is one bad ass. Just this episode, she gets shot by an arrow, pulls it out, treats the wound, while suffering from the bends, and continues on in her search for the person who took Solo. She needs her suit back to make it back to her own silo and only Solo knows where it is.

At the end, though, Juliette comes across three others, one of which had that bow trained back on her for a second time.

Bernard is a real dirtbag. His quest for power is just non-stop as he manipulates poor Walker into becoming his snitch. He placed her former spouse’s life in danger in order to blackmail her. He truly is an epically horrible man. He is also going to be taking advantage of Lukas until he gets the message translated. Sims told Lukas that Bernard will dump him immediately after he gets what he needed from him, and I believe that fully.

More details on the mysterious and apparently awful Salvador Quinn are revealed as Lukas found the book that he was looking for, a copy of the Pact.

Two more episodes remain in season two of Silo and I see big things preparing to happen.

Dexter: Original Sin S1 E5

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“F is for F*ck Up”

Okay, the last couple of episodes of Dexter have been a bit lacking for my tastes. This episode, Dexter gets stoned eating some of Deb’s pot brownies. That whole section of the episode felt like it came out of nowhere and did not mean anything to the story. Outside of trying to build some connection between Dexter and Debra, there was not much more for it to be included in this episode.

Harry’s arc through the episode was inconsistent too. I am not sure I enjoyed either the flashbacks with Harry or his incompetence at the trial of Dexter’s soon to be next victim.

Having Harry end up on Dexter’s table, wrapped in plastic, did not convince me that the cop would accept this as a possibility from his step-son.

Dexter trapped with the horse was another silly moment in the episode, as was him tucking the horse’s hair behind its ear.

The best part of the episode continues to be Debra, and her attempts to have some relationship with her father and brother. After letting her down again, Deb went to her mother’s gravesite on her own, with a ride from her new boyfriend. They have sex in his car later in the episode as he seems very kind and loving toward her. I have a feeling that won’t stay that way very long. I hope I am wrong about that, but it feels like the cliched manner in which this story will go.

I have not been a fan of this show as much as I thought I would after the first couple of episodes. I hope it starts to improve soon.